Test all MAME roms for verification

[Hypnoziz]

Is there a program available than can test your entire rom library for verification within your current MAME build and then remove all roms that don't pass?

The reason I ask is because I got really sidetracked from my previous project (Arcade Music Trivia Challenger) and started working on something that would pull ALL your roms that didn't pass MAME verification. If it's already been done before, then I might as well stop, but for the time being, I've got something that works. It doesn't delete the non-working roms (because you never know if it'll catch a false-positive), but instead opts to place those roms in a folder on your desktop so you can conveniently go through and grab any roms that may have been working (such as BIOS files and whatnot).

Basically, in combination with Don's HyperSpin List Generator (great program! [Download: http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/downloads.php?do=file&id=4311]), you'll be left with a MAME library in HyperSpin that not only looks good and only lists the roms you have, but also only contains WORKING roms for your version of MAME.

Anyone have any ideas or input? I'd like to know if this is worth actually tuning up and releasing to the public.

[Mr Black Arm]

I think its a great idea. On my last rom set I manually went through and tested each rom and deleted it if it wasn't working (got as far as the Rs).

[Lashek]

ClrMamePro actually verifies everything needed for the ROM to pass.

HyperList contains the working / not working info from the MAME xml's (although it's not active yet...)

My HyperManager tool disables the ROM's in the XML that do not exist in your ROM's folder, but this, unfortunately, is an HS 2.0 field that is ignored by 1.0. Although, you could just scan your ROM's with HyperROM2XML and then upload it to HyperList and re-download it to maintain the data (manufacturer, etc).

[Hypnoziz]

Good to know, Lashek. I'll just finish it up for myself, since I don't really trust my rom libraries in the hands of a program I didn't personally write (too much at risk!). Thanks for the info. =)

[Lashek]

With MAME, the MAME Executable outputs all the information needed to be able to verify it's roms. ClrMamePro has a tried and true reputation of doing MAME properly. The only issue it has is with certain consoles that require headers (IE: NES), and that is only if you are missing the header files required.

[chillinwater]

Also for some other stuff you can do.....
using mame32fx, mameXT (maybe also mame++)

audit your roms within mame
-->file-->audit roms

then when the long audit process is done...
if you select for comparison,
-all games (shows all games supported by the mame version your running)
total games # bottom right

then select,
-available (lists only games that passed the audit)
total games # (passed, available) bottom right

with that "available" field open select
-->file-->Save current roms list-->save file somwhere

then you can upload the text file with the "romname only" format into hyperlist to make your database.

You can further refine things if you right-click on the "available" folder and select "custom filters" then make a different text file for Hyperlist.

I make all kinds of lists this way
(with anything that shows up in the folder pane on the left to make a list)

[Hypnoziz]

Do any of these move the non-working roms? That's pretty much what I'm looking for. Not for myself, but for a few people I know that decided to *ahem!* download a torrent of 6,000 roms and neglect to check which ones are working or non-working...

I personally wouldn't be caught dead doing that because I simply can't manage it all, but yeah...any tool that moves the non-working roms as well or deletes them?

[chillinwater]

I dont think so.....romlister does make some.....but wait!

Again using the mame gui's to make a txt list from previous post....
I also use a program "Add Data, Text & Characters To Files Software.exe"
that adds text before and after (each) line of a text file.

I only show (2) lines below but it adds text to thousands of lines at a time in two passes (1) for before and (1) for after.
so say from your text list for:

pacman
zaxxon

you could add text like

move pacman.zip yourdirectory
move zaxxon.zip yourdirectory
or
del pacman.zip
del zaxxon.zip

then rename the txt to bat and place it in the folder where you want to del roms or move roms (from)
and run it.
the possibilites are endless :D

[Hypnoziz]

That's pretty much what this program is doing...reads the output from the command:

mame -verifyroms

and then breaks it down into showing JUST the titles of the games that failed, then creates a batch file to move those roms elsewhere.

[chillinwater]

Well then I stand corrected!!!
I love learning somthing new...Thanks!

But does it allow you to add some filters like the gui's do?

command line filters?
if so examples? :D

Gotta keep learnin!

[edit]-testing done
-yes the bat replaces the audit step from the gui's
-testing batch creation. nope no batch created

[Hypnoziz]

I'm not quite sure about filters as I've never played around with them. But it seems like there's already some solid techniques out there that can perform all these functions already, so I'll go ahead and just use this program for personal use.

Thanks guys for the info. Saved me a lot of work! Haha!

[chillinwater]

That's pretty much what this program is doing...reads the output from the command:

mame -verifyroms
and then breaks it down into showing JUST the titles of the games that failed, then creates a batch file to move those roms elsewhere.
I must have missed it...most likely misunderstood it :D
I can get mame to generate the list via the -verifyroms command and output it to a txt file...

...but which program is this again that creates the move batch file?

-Don's HyperSpin List Generator?
-mame itself? via another commandline?

[Hypnoziz]

Sorry about the poor wording. I was referring to the program I was working on. That's the program that gathers the MAME verification results from command-line and then creates a batch file for moving all failed roms.

[chillinwater]

Gotcha...
In that case I cant wait to test it out if\when you make it available. :D

[edit]
now that I think about it I think there are some command switches that romlister uses (I think they might also be mame filters) I'll look into it.
[edit again]
Nope romlister only!

[Dazz]

Do any of these move the non-working roms/

Keep in mind that "non-working" can mean some very very minor things are not working. However, the game plays. This can be small things such as a sound driver not at 100% or minor graphical glitches. Just because it's "non-working" doesn't mean that it's not working.

[chillinwater]

Yeah gotta be careful with clones too!! :D

[Hypnoziz]

It won't remove roms with minor sound or graphical glitches, but yes...clones are difficult to leave intact. I'm still trying to find a way to detect clones, but I'm starting to think it won't be possible. =/

[Mr Black Arm]

I'm too afraid to mess with my set of MAME roms, just because I'm not confident in what I'm doing. But with that being said, it would be nice to have a complete set of ALL that are working.

Do most of you download a full set and then removed the true Non-Working or is there a complete working set downloadable?

[Hypnoziz]

I download one at a time and ensure that they're working. Slower, but guaranteed to run.

[deanmorrison]

imjust doing what you said and like what your doing,taking my time...no full sets i want a collection that has no spaces just running good games..

hypnoziz cheers again for the help..

[Dazz]

I'm too afraid to mess with my set of MAME roms, just because I'm not confident in what I'm doing. But with that being said, it would be nice to have a complete set of ALL that are working.

Do most of you download a full set and then removed the true Non-Working or is there a complete working set downloadable?

Honestly, I find it much easier to maintain and update a full set of roms than it is for partial sets. It's much easier to learn CLRMAMEPro to scan, merge and re-build complete sets than it is to go through one game at a time deleting/removing non-working. I keep a full list of game in my HyperSpin setup and then I use Favorites to get to the games that are mostly played. It ever fails that I'll have friends come over and go... "do you have such and such game". With a partial list it's possible that it wouldn't be on my list, but with a full list it's always there.

With 2.0 you'll be able to simply disable a rom from appearing from the game list. So with 2.0 it's going to be best to have a full list and just disable games from the menu as you come across them. This will NOT remove the ROM from your collection, so maintaining your ROMs will still be easier, but will keep the game from appearing on your game list.

[ThirdDoi]

Actually, the easiest thing to do would be to keep a fully updated set and have the front end batch enable only those ROMs contained in a list created by ROMLister. Should I make a feature request?

[Hypnoziz]

My main concern here is for hard drive space. I know a few of you maintain multiple 2TB drives, but I don't have that luxury. Therefore, my preference is to download one at a time. I don't download sets.

[Hypnoziz]

This thread had gotten quite a bit off-topic. At this point, I request a close of the thread. I'll continue to develop the program for personal use (and I greatly appreciate the input...you guys rock!), but I think it would be better off for me to use this for myself and my friends. Thanks everyone for the input. =)

[deanmorrison]

yesm8 your friend and thankyou for the beta test its working great for me and i got rid of all the 720 zip files...all my games are working and what i want...great program ..respect...tell me how much you need for a 2tb hd christmas may come early.

[ThirdDoi]

It won't remove roms with minor sound or graphical glitches, but yes...clones are difficult to leave intact. I'm still trying to find a way to detect clones, but I'm starting to think it won't be possible. =/

mame.exe -listclones > clones.txt

Use clones.txt in your program.

Seriously, ROMLister is your one and only friend, especially if you download files one at a time. You have more than the problem of whether or not the game works. If you don't have more than one drive, then you probably don't have many controls. Spy Hunter and Tempest are two classics that both work. You should try playing them without the proper controls to see why you need ROMLister. Best of all, ROMLister will tell you exactly what files you need without having to download a single ROM. Just generate the list with ROMLister and either download the files listed or verify the ones you have against that list. It's really just that simple.

P.S.
A 2 TB USB 2.0 drive can be had for between $60 to $80 with free shipping if you look. A one TB drive can be had for even less. Without CHDs, a complete MAME 0.143 ROMs set is only 28.14 GB.